My Sikkim Story

The idea came to Biddu da in the midway in train on a Sunday evening. I was returning back to Kolkata from Knathi with JFK and Biddu Da. The group of friends that I possess has done hundreds of extra ordinary things but only this one was left to achieve - organising a long tour. Plans had surfaced in our minds many a time before. But it has always been till the planning part. So this time we were very serious. We thought of trying for Dooars.

After some days Biddu da called us up telling hat he had got leave for 10 days in the June end. I am mentioning this because this guy got leave after 2 years of service. So the rest was in our hands to organize the tour in the worst ever season to visit any Himalayan part of he country(that's what people say). Soon we heard Dooars was closed due to the start of the monsoon season. So We started planning for alternatives and that's when one of our friends came with the idea of Sikkim. And that was it. Bought train tickets in Darjeeling mail on 19th and return ticket in Padatik Express on 26th June. One week of Sikkim tour including North Sikkim.

But soon problems and issues started to arise. Initially we were 7 guys. Then for various reasons the number started to reduce. Ultimately on the day of journey(19th June) we were 4. Me, Dada, JFK and Biddu da. Before 19th there were a few landslides in Sikkim. On 19th the Morcha in Darjeeling called strike. We thought we could manage. Got on Darjeeling Mail from Sealdah at night not being sure what was waiting for us there - Slides or Kookri!

Day 1 (Sunday 20th June)>>

We reached NJP on a cloudy Sunday morning. It was drizzling in NJP. We rented an Indica Vista for 1800 Rs. It was a bit expensive but we needed the luxury of smoking in the car. You can also take shared cabs for cheaper rates. The journey to Gangtok was beautiful. We were so much excited to see the landscapes that we snapped many pictures on that journey itself(Later we realised it was nothing compare to North Sikkim). We stopped at many places. It takes 4 hours approx to reach Gangtok.

We reached Gangtok at noon. The weather was good if not great. Gangtok is amazingly beautiful. We are from a small town by the bay of Bengal. We had never been to a hilly area like this. The whole state of Sikkim is a litter free, spit free and no smoking zone. Four of us being avid smokers the last part was a problem. But watching this wonderful city you will acknowledge these imposed regulations. Actually this is the reason why Sikkim is so beautiful and natural. Only local city cabs are permitted inside the city. There are different taxi stands at the outskirts of the city. We off boarded at the Siliguri taxi stand and took a cab to reach Hotel Yang La at the Paljor Stadium Road near STNM hospital. We had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights there in advance, some days before in Kolkata. Hotel Yang La serves some rooms for Calcutta Tram Corporation. We had booked 2 rooms by visiting CTC office near the Esplanade Bus stand. The rooms are actually 3 sitters. So 2 3 sitter rooms for 2 nights cost us 1300 rs. Pretty cheap. Isn't it? The rooms were great. We were in Sikkim for 7 days and we were the only boarders for the entire week. Because June ends the longlasting travel season. The season again starts from mid September. Let me share one interesting thing about this hotel. Its behind the STNM hospital. We went behind the hospital and saw only a Board mentioning the hotel name. There was no hotel behind that banner! Then we realized stairs follow down beside the banner. The manager said we got room in the 2nd floor. Dada asked if the view was good. The Manager assured us. The reception was at the top floor. And our room was 2nd floor down from the roof(from where we entered). The view from balcony was great.

The Manager was very helpful. We had our lunch at a Bengali restaurant in M.G.Marg. I would say it was cost effective. At the evening we went to M.G.Marg(the Mall). You can spend the entire evening here. They play nice music and host shows also. But we were busy planning for the coming 6 days. There are many travel agents there in and near M.G.Marg. We spoke with one or two. Then went to a pub named Pub 25 in the Mall. There we had some liqour and the famous HIT bear(made in Danny Denzongpa's breweries). The beer was excellent and cheap also. One bottle of beer costs 39 Rs. Then returned to hotel thinking it would be wise to consult with Manager Jethu(what we called this wise old man [:)]). Jehtu told us not to worry. The hotel has a driver and the driver is excellent. We were satisfied with this assurance. We planned the next day we will visit Tsogmo lake(pronunced as Chhangu) and Babamandir. Both are in East Sikkim. It would cost us 2000 Rs total. The driver had a Tata Sumo. His name was Tshering Bhutia. That night we had beers in the hotel with pakoras and fries prepared by Goutam, the caretaker of Yang La.Well I must mention Goutom's name here. He was extremely helpful, carried out every single instruction we gave including bringing Cigarettes, snacks and beers for us! This boy cooks exellent food. We felt like home there. In his own words he could do everything from 'Juto selai' to 'Chandi Path'. Not much of exaggeration, I confess.

My next post will contain info about the remaining days.

For Sikkim Pics - http://picasaweb.google.com/somonline

Bye for now.